Book 1: Confidence
by Evanibble
Summary: Kai is just a ordinary, 19-year old firebender going to Republic University when he discovers that he is The Avatar, the supposed master of all four bending elements. However, this was kept hidden from Kai for reasons that aren't clear to him. This is a story of him learning each of the elements, including his native firebending, alongside his friends Wan, Liang, and Marion. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: The Avatar

**Chapter 1: The Avatar**

_Autumn, 326 AG_

Normally, Avatars are revealed around the age of 16. Kai was not. He found out a few years later than he should have and, as he would later find out, for good reason.

Kai, a six-foot young man with dark brown hair and a lanky figure, was raised as a firebender in Fire Fountain City. If you've never heard of it, it's an industrial city located on an island off the coast of the Fire Nation. During the 100 year war, it was used to support the war effort led by Fire Lord Ozai. Even more than 200 years later, there is still a statue of him in the center of the city.

He grew up as the son of a banker, which is a noble profession in that area of the world, since it now more known as a commercial hub these days. His mother, a baker by training, had spent most of Kai's childhood raising his two younger siblings, Ailo and Jaun. Nowadays, she works part time in a bakery, and part time as a stay-at-home mother, now that Ailo is old enough to help her out in the household.

As for Kai, he was a second-year university student at Republic University, in the capital city of the United Republic of Nations (UR). There He is studying politics, and hope to one day be involved at the national, or maybe even international, level, working to ensure that the different nations continue to seek and support peaceful solutions to problems, and policies to prevent widescale conflict moving forward.

Within the following year, the UR would enter the process of choosing their next president. President Raiko III chose to step down, and thus an election will be held to choose his successor. In 326 AG, there weren't many candidates stepping up, but there were rumors of a few potential candidates stepping into the ring. One, who represented the non-bending party, is a close friend of Raiko III, and promised continue many of his policies. His name was Jen-Hu Mung, the former mayor of Republic City, and he was considered a pragmatist when it came to the politics of the UR. While he had particular beliefs and values, he also recognized that to get anything done, he would need to sit down with the other side and find a middle ground.

There was also Roe Pina, the ambassador to the northern water tribe under Raiko III and, naturally, a waterbender. We have never had a president who was a waterbender. In fact, only one president was a bender, and she was a firebender, as well as a descendent of Fire Lord Izumi, the daughter of Fire Lord Zuko, who once fought with Avatar Aang to end the 100 year war. Ambassador Pina had fantastic ideas that appealed to many people my age, particularly those who don't always follow UR politics. However, skeptics say that she would have difficulty getting much of her policies through a primarily non-bending government.

There was also a third major potential candidate, and that is Dade Wang, a businessman from Republic City. He was an interesting character. For starters, Dade knew little about politics, comparatively speaking. In fact, some would consider him a joke, but he was serious about running for national office.

Anyways, back to Kai's story.

It's a crisp fall day at Republic University. Kai just moved back into the school dormitories, which is customary for most students his age, after spending a summer back at home. It was just like any ordinary day, and it really started when he was walking to grab lunch with his roommate, and close friend, Wan.

Wan is a third-year student from Republic City. He was a tall, dust-brown haired man with skinny shoulders, similar to Kai's. However, it belied the overall look. Wan was well built, the result of spending his summers on the outskirts of Republic City working on his uncle's farm. He didn't show it much, if at all, but he was also an earthbender by birth. His parents came from a small village on the northern coast of the Old Earth Kingdom. His ancestors helped fight with Avatar Aang against Fire Lord Ozai. However, they never met The Avatar in person.

Despite how little he shows off his bending abilities, he is unusually proud to be an earthbender. When he was born, the current avatar was an earthbender, by the name of Alder (not a common name for someone born in the Earth Kingdom). What Wan is even more proud of, besides his shared abilities with Avatar Alder, is the fact that Alder came from the same village that Wan's ancestors also came from. When Kai found this out, he seemed interested, but didn't pay much attention. The Avatar never seemed particularly interesting to him.

They had just gotten to one of their favorite restaurants, called The Yellow Monkey, around midday. This lunch was really for them to catch up, since they hadn't seen one another in a few months.

"So...Kai, how was your summer back in the Fire Nation?" Wan asked curiously as they sat down.

"It was nice to be back home after being away for so long, but I really missed Republic City." Kai said as he looked down at the menu.

"What'll it be, boys?" a familiar voice asked Wan and Kai. The latter looked up from the menu to see one of his close friends from last year, Liang, smiling down at him. Liang was a shorter girl, with thick glasses and curly black hair. She wore an obnoxiously bright yellow shirt and a black skirt—the odd-looking uniform required at The Yellow Monkey.

"Liang! Hey, how's it going?" Kai said excitedly. Since he had been so busy moving in again, he haven't had the chance to catch up with any of his friends from school yet. Wan is the first, as a matter of fact.

"It's going, nothing new here. Just been working, makin' that sweet cash," Liang replied. She was one of those friends that tries to "stay hip" but fails miserably. Kai find it hilarious, although he know for a fact that he was not much better than she was.

"Well that's great. Say, wanna stop by my dorm later tonight? You can come meet my new roommates, and we can catch up some more!" Kai suggested.

"I'd be down for that dude. I'm also living in the dorms this year, so I'll text you when I'm on my way. Sound good?" Kai nodded. "Great! Now, what're you both having?"

They gave her their orders and she walked back behind the counter. Wan then looked at Kai, grinning as he always does, and began speaking again.

"Well, I'm glad you've had a great summer. How has your firebending been going?"

Kai shook his head. "I haven't actually practiced much, at least not as much as I should have. But I am learning new techniques. I'll have to show you later."

For Kai, firebending has always defined him, at least until he got to university. Growing up, he participated in bending athletics. It's essential pro-bending, but for youth benders. He was never particularly good at it, and since he was a firebender playing in Fire Nation leagues, he was always outclassed by other kids his age. However, his father used to play in amateur bending leagues, and taught him everything he knew. Kai played in bending sports until he was about 12 and since then he hasn't gotten significantly better at it. It's largely due to his lack of confidence that defines a great firebender, nor the aggressiveness. Since he moved to Republic City, Kai hasn't practiced firebending as much. It's something that he has wanted to work on for quite some time, but just never got around to it. He was either too busy with school or just too lazy to actually get off of his ass and practice. But this year, Kai hoped, will be different. He was determined to become a better firebender.

Unsure of what to say next, Kai looked down at the mat sitting in front of him. It was printed with the symbols of all four elements: air, water, earth, and fire, each one in the corner of the mat. For a moment, he wondered what it would be like to actually master all four elements.

And then, out of nowhere, it hit him.

"Hey, Wan." He looked up from across the table. "I just realized something…about the Avatar."

"Yeah, and that would be…?"

"It's been almost 20 years since the last Avatar died. You would think that he or she would have been announced by now," Kai thought about it further. On the surface, it makes absolutely no sense.

"I bet there has to be some reason for that, right? Avatar Aang wasn't revealed as the avatar for quite a while."

"That was because he was frozen in ice for 100 years."

"True, true. But even before that, no one but the monks knew, if I recall correctly," Wan was right. The world knew that the next Avatar would be an air nomad, and so the Fire Nation went and destroyed all of the temples. Kai recalled this information to Wan, who thought about it for a moment. "Hmm…well, isn't this current Avatar supposed to be a firebender?" Kai nodded. "I doubt there is any sort of crisis that would prevent us from learning the identity of the new Avatar, so I don't seem to understand this."

Kai nodded in agreement. He don't know many firebenders outside of Fire Fountain, so he couldn't seem to think of anyone who could legitimately become the Avatar.

"The Avatar would be either 19 or 20 right now, I think," Wan said, swirling the jelly balls in his bubble tea, clearly deep in thought about this.

"That would narrow it down a bit," Kai said before sipping his bubble tea. Liang showed up and gave them their food. She noticed how pensive they both suddenly were.

"Are you two alright?" She asked. The two students both looked up at her.

"Let's talk tonight," Wan said. "We would like your thoughts on something." Liang nodded and, with a grin, walked back to the cash register to take some to-go orders.

Before he took his first bite of food, he looked directly at Kai. "Okay, this might sound a little weird, but I just thought of something." He looked up at me, a mix of concern and surprise on his face.

"And that would be…?"

"You could be the avatar," Kai spit out his bubble tea, nearly choking on one of the jelly balls that was already midway down his throat.

"_What?! No!_" He exclaimed, almost angry. "There's no way I'm the Avatar!"

"Well, think about it. We know the Avatar was born in the Fire Nation almost 20 years ago. You fit both of those requirements."

"But wouldn't they have _told_ me already?" Kai said, leaning over my food, staring Wan down. "Furthermore," he said, leaning back into his chair, "I would be a far better firebender. I'm not that great at it. I would also be learning the other elements, or at least have had some sort of interaction with them."

"I don't know. It's just a thought. There are only so many 19-20 year old firebenders out there," Wan said, clearly dismissing his own idea. Kai started on his lunch as his friend finished speaking.

For the rest of the meal, neither of them spoke. _There's no way I'm the Avatar_, Kai thought to himself. He didn't remember any instance in which he accidentally bent another element. He could only firebend, and not very well at that.

There's also the veracity of Wan's statements to consider, particularly the history of them being very incorrect. Once, during their previous school year together, Wan firmly believed that Liang had a crush on Kai. The young firebender, completely oblivious to social cues, and slightly gullible, believed his friend Wan. So, Kai confronted Liang about it, and was promptly denied. Liang had no interest in Kai beyond a friendship.

Another moment of wrongness: Wan also, very firmly, alleged that President Raiko would stay on for another term as president. He had no evidence to back this up, other than pure speculation. As it turned out, a few days later Raiko announced he was retiring.

Even though Kai was skeptical about Wan's belief that he was, in fact, the Avatar, he resolved to call his parents when he got back to his dorm room and ask them. If anyone, they would know the answer best.

On the way back to Sato Hall at the University, Wan and Kai continued talking about the Avatar. He kept insisting that Kai was, who kept denying it. Eventually, Kai abruptly ended the conversation, although he was almost certain that Wan wasn't convinced. He needed firm evidence to prove him otherwise.

Anyways, Kai get back to my dorm room. He lived in a suite-style dorm, with rooms surrounding a common area with a window outside. As he walked through, Kai noticed some of his roommates playing a pro-bending based video game. Wan, who followed behind me, went and joined them for a few rounds.

Instead, Kai laid down on his bed and pulled his phone out his pocket. Looking at it, Kai thought about calling his parents. However, knowing that there were a few people out in the common room that might overhear his conversation, he decided against it for the time being. He placed his phone on the nightstand next to his bed, and stared at the ceiling for a moment.

Next thing he know, he was on the ground, and his head was aching. There was a loud knocking on my door.

"Kai? Kai are you alright?" Wan's voice sounded urgent, and slightly worried. Once Kai managed to stand up, he slowly walked over to the door, massaging his head.

He opened the door. "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I passed out and then fell out of my bed or something and hit my head on the nightstand," he said, wincing.

"Do you need anything?" Wan asked, clearly concerned at what he saw. Kai shook my head slowly, instead walking out into the common room and sitting down on the couch next to some of his roommates. They both looked at me, pausing their game and asking him what happened. Kai repeated what he told Wan, and lay his head back against the wall behind the navy blue and forest green striped couch.

How did he end up on the ground? That hasn't happened since he was a kid, when it was normal to fall out of a bed. He didn't remember having a dream. _Maybe it was just anxiety that pushed me out of the bed on accident_, Kai thought to himself.

Kai finally decided to find out the truth. He stood up from the couch and went to grab his phone. Instead of talking in his room, he decided to go out onto the balcony and speak with his parents there.

He called his father, Ren-di, and for a couple of minutes they just caught up. He asked about how Kai's move-in was, whether or not he liked his new roommates, how Wan was doing, and a variety of other questions. In turn, Kai asked how his siblings were doing. When they got that out of the way, Kai asked him to get his mother, Ying, on the phone as well.

"What's bothering you, Kai? You sound a little concerned," Ying asked, sounding a little worried. Ren echoed her statements.

"Well, I have a question to ask you. And I want you to be as honest as possible," Kai stated bluntly. Here it goes.

"What is it, son?"

"Am I the avatar?"

For a moment, both of his parents were dead silent. Maybe they didn't quite know how to respond. "Why do you ask?" Ren finally said, after a few moments.

"Wan and I were talking about it during lunch today. I know that the last avatar died almost 20 years ago, and he was an earthbender, meaning that the next reincarnation would be born in the Fire Nation. Mom, Dad, I am 19 and I was born in the Fire Nation."

"Well, Kai, that doesn't mean you're the avatar," Ying said, trying to reassure me. She must have sense the worry in her son's voice, knowing that Kai was clearly not ready for this kind of responsibility.

"Can you please answer my question? Yes...or No?" Kai repeated himself, this time more serious.

Another silence followed.

"Well…" Ren began. "We were worried about telling you."

That's it. Kai got his answer.

* * *

**Hello! I am back, and obviously with a new story! **

**I started writing this story shortly before I wrote _Through the Years_, but I never got past the second chapter (which will come out soon). I hope you enjoy it. I'm a huge fan of ATLA and Legend of Korra and wanted to add my own ideas to the universe, in the same way I did in _Through the Years_. **

**Chapters may or may not be uploaded on a daily basis. That's my plan, but I really have no idea. I'm just now getting back into writing again.**


	2. Chapter 2: The reason behind it all

**Chapter 2: The reason behind it all**

Kai stood on the balcony, silent in shock, as his parents continued. He couldn't seem to find the words to express his feelings.

"You see, Kai, we were notified that you were the Avatar when you were about five years old." My mother continued. "One day, the fire sages showed up. I was feeding Ailo and your father was out in the yard, playing with you. The sages looked concerned. So we all sat down: them, your father, and I. You and Ailo went into your room to play.

"The sages quickly broke the news to us that they had reason to believe that you would be the Avatar. At first, we were scared, but a little excited at the prospect that you had a bright future ahead of you. That it was your destiny to do extraordinary things for the world. But then the sages gave us the bad news. They said they sensed grave danger for the world, but couldn't exactly specify what it was, maybe it was classified by the Fire Nation. We still don't exactly know.

"They wanted to train you early on, so that you would be ready to face this unknown danger. We didn't know what to do, but the sages did give us the option: wait until you were much older—the riskier move, but the safest for you—or let them take you away and train you. We had no guarantee that we would see you again," Ying stopped, letting Ren continue the story.

"We chose to keep you. We wanted you to grow up like a normal kid, with friends and hobbies. We wanted you to choose your own path. We knew that one day we would have to tell you, since it is your destiny to become the Avatar."

Through all of this Kai remained silent. When they finished, he still didn't know what to say. "Kai?" Ren asked, waiting for my response.

"Umm….I…I don't know what to say," he stuttered. "I mean...thanks? I don't know if that is right or wrong to say."

"We understand that you're confused, and trust me, we don't really understand any of this either," Ying said, trying again to reassure him. "But we'll always be here for you. Always," Ren concurred.

"What do I do now? Where do I start? I have so many questions." Kai said, starting to panic a little.

"I think you need to continue life as normal for now. Start your classes, hang out with your friends, and enjoy your life. We can take this step by step, Kai."

"But how can I do that when I know I have something more important to focus on? I need to train, don't I? I need to learn the four elements as soon as I can."

Initially, his parents resisted. But Kai couldn't just let this slide. He don't know why they were so reluctant to let him make this decision.

"I'm old enough to choose how I live my life! I know that you are providing me with a college education, and are helping me in every way you can, but you _have_ to let me do this!" he raised his voice, which he rarely did.

This time, they agreed to let him do what he wanted, whatever that would be. Kai eventually ended the call with them, and walked back into the common room. Wan and two of his roommates, who had been playing games this whole time, looked over at Kai as he entered. Without saying anything, he walked past them and left the dorm.

So Kai took a walk around campus. Going just south of Sato Hall, he made his way towards the "Central Park" of the school—a large field surrounded by buildings, such as lecture halls and other dormitories—and sat down on a bench after strolling around for a while.

As he closely watched some other students practice Earthbending, Kai wondered what it would be like to learn the bending art. He knew comparatively little about the Avatar—well, in his mind at least. He knew that the Avatar was declared by a group of sages who tested children by presenting them with specific objects. This was true in the Air Temples as well as in the Fire Nation, as far as Kai was concerned.

Kai then pondered what the sages told his parents. "_They said they sensed grave danger for the world, but couldn't exactly specify what it was, maybe it was classified by the Fire Nation."_

_What great danger could there be? _Kai thought to himself. _We're living in the most peaceful time since before the 100 Year War. There couldn't possibly be something so dangerous that it threatened the existence of the Avatar. Not at least without some sort of hint as to the identity of this threat._

What confused Kai was how there was no denying the veracity of the sages. _Yet, at the same time they couldn't seem to figure out what this danger is and why I needed to go with them so early on in my life. _

Kai grabbed his head and shook it aggressively. He wanted to yell out of confusion. He was scared, and unsure about what to do. _Of course, the safest thing would be to ignore all of this._ This was a tempting option, Kai figured. However, the most logical option would be to go and master the four elements and try and stop this threat. _After all, if I am the Avatar, this is my job. I have to step up._

Kai looked up, a dour expression etched on his face. _But what if I fail? The Sages were worried, enough that they had to tell my parents years before they normally would have. Something is out there, what if I fail to stop it? Worse, what if I can't master the elements?_

That didn't make sense either. _The Avatar always manages to master the elements, right? They're built to do that. But I can barely learn firebending, my native bending style. If I can't do that my 19 years old, how can I possibly learn the other three before this threat appears?_

He slammed his fists onto his legs out of anger. "DAMMIT!" he shouted, attracting some attention. He noticed that his hands felt warm—almost as discouraging. _I can't even produce fire when I'm angry…isn't that normal for someone learning firebending? Accidentally creating flames from emotional outbursts? _Kai then put his head in his palms.

Kai looked up after a minute, allowing his vision to readjust to the surrounding area. _But I have to try, right? I have to give it a shot. After all, that's what I'm supposed to do. My parents probably want me to, even if they won't tell me. Wan wants me to, and he _will_ tell me. The Sages want me to, and they tried already. I don't think I have a choice in this matter. _

Standing up, Kai elected to go back to his dorm. He wanted Wan's input, despite the former's now-firm belief that only one option existed.

"Wait a second," Wan said, shaking his head lightly, "you're saying that _you're_ the Avatar?"

Kai, sitting in a desk chair opposite Wan and Liang, who were both sitting on his bed, nodded. "Yep. That's what the Sages told my parents, who them told me."

"So….I was _right_!?" Wan exclaimed. "I was _actually right_!?"

Kai nodded again, with hesitation this time. "…yeah, you were right."

While Wan was trying to grasp this, Liang stepped in. "So what happens next? Do you learn the other elements now?"

Kai looked down, remembering his thoughts from earlier. "I'm supposed to, yeah. I guess the cycle, for me, goes like this: fire, air, water, then earth. That's the order I have to learn them in."

"So are we going to the Air Temples then?" Wan asked excitedly, causing Kai to stare at him quizzically.

"…_we_…?"

"Yeah! We're going with you, Kai," Wan said, turning to Liang.

Both Kai and Liang were silent for a moment. Not sure how to respond, Kai remained quiet, allowing Liang to speak first.

"I don't think I can, Wan," Liang replied, moving a strand of black hair behind her ear. "I can't just quit on my job like that. I also have classes that I can't give up. And…if I'm being really honest, I don't know any bending arts, so what role would I even play in this?"

"But we're his friends!" Wan exclaimed. "Avatar Aang's friends tagged along with him!"

"His friends weren't in school," Kai interjected, "also, he met them along the way. Besides, neither of you are coming along with me. This isn't your business."

Wan stared at Kai in a way that he'd never before. It was a level of seriousness that Kai didn't know Wan was capable of. He meant this.

"You're an earthbender, Wan. I don't know how you'd be helpful, honestly."

"You _have_ to learn it! I could teach you!"

"You're a master of Earthbending?" Kai asked, raising an eyebrow. When Wan didn't reply, he continued. "I also have to learn that last. So, even if you were a master, then who knows when I'd get to learn from you? I still have to learn airbending and waterbending, and those could take years to learn."

"Kai…" Wan said, "I want to help you."

"But you won't be able to!" Kai shouted back. "I have to do this a specific way! And you're not proving yourself to be useful!"

"Kai…" Liang said, sounding concerned.

Kai took a deep breath, calming himself. "Sorry, Wan. I'm just…so confused right now."

"I get it," Wan said sympathetically. "That's why I'm here. I _know_ I won't be the most useful person to you, but you can't just do it alone. I know you know that."

_He has a point, _Kai thought to himself_._ He was stubborn—more than he cared to admit. Having a familiar face around could help him adjust to a new life in the Air Temples and beyond. He sighed. "Alright, I'd like for you to join me, Wan."

"The pleasure is all mine, Avatar Kai," Wan said, standing up and bowing to his friend.

"Please don't call me that," Kai said hesitantly. "I'm not a fully realized Avatar."

"Fully realized?" Liang asked.

"Yeah, a 'fully realized' Avatar is someone who has mastered all four elements. I am very much not that person yet."

"But you will be," Wan said, clasping Kai on the shoulder. "I know it."

Kai raised an eyebrow in mock concern, "you don't exactly have the best track record of being right."

"Hey! I was right about this! The thing that matters the most!" Wan exclaimed in defense.

Kai shook his head, smiling as he did so. "Anyway, I need to leave soon. For the Air Temples, I meant."

"I'll cancel my classes for this semester," Wan said. "We'll probably be gone for a while."

Kai nodded, thinking of all of the logistical things he had to do to prepare for this. There needed to be a total remake of his lifestyle. He also had to find a way to get to the Air Temples. That would probably be the hardest task to accomplish—his first one as the supposed Avatar.

However, he elected to put off those decisions until the following morning. It had been a long, exhausting day. The one day that would change his life forever.

* * *

**Author's Note: Second chapter, acting as a set up for the rest of the "Book." Hope you enjoyed it. If you're wondering why the writing was so schizophrenic, that's on purpose. Kai has no idea what the hell is going on here. **


	3. Chapter 3: Marion

**Chapter 3:** **Marion**

Kai woke up with a start, feeling a cold sweat. Looking around at the dark room, and realizing he had been dreaming, he fell back on his pillow, looking up at the ceiling, eyes wide open. He didn't remember what caused him to wake up in a panic—one of those dreams that disappears from memory immediately after ending. But something was bothering him subconsciously.

Of course, he expected it. Just three days ago, he discovered that he was very likely the Avatar, the master of all four elements. He was also the last person deserving of the honor, he believed. He could barely master his native bending art, and now felt increased pressure to not just learn that, but also learn the next element in the cycle—airbending.

On top of that, there was something dark looming over the world that he would have to face. He had no idea who—or what—this thing was, and clearly no one else did. His dream could have related to that, or just the simple anxiety over his drastic life change.

Kai and Wan had spent the past few days tying up loose ends and planning their trip to the Western Air Temple, where Kai hoped to learn—and master—airbending. After speaking with his parents, who gave him their "blessing" to travel and learn the bending arts, the two friends prepared their journey. The Western Air Temple was the closest temple to Republic City, and wouldn't take very long to get there. Fortunately, there were multiple ways of travelling—by airplane, by bison, and by boat. At least, on paper that's what they figured.

With the help of Liang, who also did some research on the temples, they quickly discovered that the Western Air Temples were not only high in the air, but also inside of the mountain ranges that they were located in. Furthermore, there was no local airport—at the request of the nomads who lived there. This shoved a wrench in their plans, and halted their preparations for a few days while Kai and Wan figured something out.

Getting a plane ticket wasn't hard—they decided to fly from Republic City to the outskirts of the mountain ranges that the temples were located in. What was difficult was finding a way to get a bison ride to the temples themselves. Neither of them knew anyone who owned or rode flying bison, nor had they seen one themselves. They were popular, and increasing in population, to be sure, but neither had taken the time to learn. In fact, Kai was afraid of heights.

Which threw another wrench in the planning, although not as deep as the problem of finding a bison. Kai had always had a fear of heights, which initially made flying in an airplane difficult for him. While he quickly managed to get over that, the root of the fear didn't go away. Riding a flying bison would be the most frightening thing Kai had ever done up to that point, and he knew that. He didn't tell this to Wan, and elected to cross that bridge when he got there.

Hours after waking up abruptly, Kai sat in a tea house near campus, staring down at his cellphone as he waited for Wan to show up. He'd have to give this up, he assumed, when he got to the temples. He would be cut off from the outside world for who knows how long. Casually scrolling through news articles, he noticed that Dade Wang had just formally announced his campaign for president of the United Republic of Nations. The headline was "Dade Wang announces run for president, says bending is a sham art."

_Hah, like that'll help him_, Kai thought to himself. Bending was incredibly popular in Republic City—obviously, as pro-bending was a serious activity. He looked up from his phone to observe, as he usually did, the world around him. People-watching was an old pastime of his, particularly one as quiet as Kai was.

He noticed a short, brown and red-haired young woman at the cash register ordering something—presumably, tea. She looked pretty; with her hair slightly curling and falling just past her shoulders. Kai couldn't get over how short she was, though—shorter than Liang, who was hardly over five feet tall. As she completed the transaction on the card reader in front of her, she turned to find a table, allowing Kai to see her more clearly.

She wore a light blue sun dress with a thin black cardigan over. In addition, she wore thin-rimmed glasses and had short bangs. As she was about to sit down, she noticed Kai looking at her. Seeing this, Kai immediately shot a look down at his phone, aggressively scrolling through his phone. Nervous now, he didn't bother to look up until he heard an unfamiliar voice raise her voice in an exhausted tone.

"What do you want?" Kai looked up to see the short girl looking up at a pair of men in plain white shirts and denim jeans with black sunglasses—an oddly generic look. They towered over this girl, one of them cracking their knuckles.

"We saw ya using that bending earlia," one of them said in an accent that Kai wasn't familiar with—it was thicker and more nasally than anything he had heard in the Fire Nation or in Republic City.

"And we just wanted to let ya know that it won't be tolerated no longer," the other said, crossing his arms.

"…what are you talking about?" she said exasperatedly, clearly confused.

"Ya airbended earlia. That isn't allowed."

"As far as I'm concerned, it isn't," she shot back. The waiter brought her a cup of green tea, but froze at the sight of the looming showdown.

"It will be, when Dade Wang is president," the second one explained. "We're just getting aheada the game."

Still confused, the girl shot a brief look at Kai before looking back at the men. "Look, whatever, just leave me be you creeps. You're not law enforcement, so I'm not sure what you can do to me."

"Oh?" clearly both men took this as a threat. One of them swiftly withdrew a switchblade from their pocket with their right hand, unsheathing it with a brief clicking sound. The other then lunged at the girl.

What happened next was so quick that it took Kai several seconds to process it. Within less than a second, the goon with the knife was thrust into the ceiling, a gust of air shoving his back into the concrete roof of the tea house. As for the other, he was shot backwards by another gust of wind, conjured a fraction of a second after the first.

With both attackers unconscious, the small girl picked up her tea and began sipping it, letting out a deep breath of air when she swallowed it.

"Idiots," she mumbled, before walking out of the tea house. As she left, Kai noticed Wan standing in the doorway, jaw on the floor. "Excuse me, sir," she said politely as she approached Wan.

"Did…you just do that?" he asked with sincere surprise.

She nodded. "Of course I did."

Wan, noticing Kai sitting there, immediately pointed at the girl. "Kai! We need her!"

The girl then turned to Kai, who had half a mind to escape to his phone a second time. But now half the tea house had their attention on him. Noticing this, he slowly got up, walked up to Wan and, in a casual tone, said "we don't need anybody. Let's go, Wan."

"But—"

"Wait, need me for what?" the girl said curiously. "I mean, why do you say that?"

Wan and Kai looked at one another, also towering over this girl. Kai sighed deeply, and motioned for the girl to follow him and his friend.

"You're an airbender," Kai began, noticing the exhausted look on the girl. "Are you familiar with any of the Air Temples?"

The girl raised an eyebrow while sipping her tea. "Are you kidding me?"

"Nope," Kai said bluntly.

"I was born in the Eastern Air Temple, and learned airbending there. So…yes, I am. Why?"

"My friend and I are trying to get to the Western Air Temples. We've got a plane flight booked that'll take us to Yangchen Airport, but—"

"Why do you need to go there?" she asked, moving her hair back behind her shoulders after feeling a light breeze.

"Because Kai here is the av—" Wan said before Kai slapped the back of his head.

"I am studying history and want to learn more about the temples, as a part of my research," Kai explained. He waited for the girl to respond. She seemed skeptical at first, but that dissipated when she took another sip of tea.

"And…?"

"And, we don't know how to get access to a flying bison to take us from the airport to the temples," Kai explained.

"Ah, gotcha. That troubles everyone who isn't an airbender. Yeah, I can help you."

Kai seemed surprised. In all honesty, he didn't believe this would work. Wan seemed to be getting better at sensing these things.

"R-really?" Kai asked.

"Yeah, sure. I'm not going to school right now, so I've got some time. Plus, I've always wanted to visit the Western Air Temples. Never got a chance growing up.

Kai blinked, still processing the sheer luck of it all. He turned to Wan, who was still nursing his head but seemed equally surprised—and slightly smug at being correct in his senses yet again. "Well then, alright. Thank you, erm…"

"Marion," she said, holding out her hand.

"Kai, and this is my friend and roommate, Wan," Kai said, returning the handshake. Her hands were soft.

"Pleasure to meet the both of you," Marion said calmly, and this time with a smile. "So boys, when do we leave?"

"Wan," Kai whispered as they approached the airport via taxi to meet Marion. "Remind me why we're trusting a complete stranger again…?"

"You know why," he replied, not whispering so that Liang, who was sitting next to them, could also hear. "You need all of the help you can get. That means having to trust people."

Kai sat back, pondering this. Wan did have a point, but he was paranoid and not as trusting as his friend was. Plus, he knew nothing about his new responsibilities, or even abilities, to protect himself from distrust and sabotage. Truthfully, he wanted to figure this out on his own. Kai breathed a heavy sigh. "You're right. But the moment she tries to attack us…"

"We'll cut her loose," Wan said diplomatically. Suddenly the taxi stopped in front of the terminal. The three friends exited the vehicle. Once Wan and Kai had their bags, they both turned to face Liang.

"Good luck, both of you," she said, hugging each of them in turn. "Especially you, Kai. Please be careful."

"I will," Kai replied, returning the hug.

"I think you're going to do great. You _can_ do this. You just have to believe that you can."

Kai nodded, and soon enough they were on their way. Turning around and walking into the airport, they noticed Marion already in the security line, which only checked for identification. By the time they got into the line, Marion had already made it through and was waiting for them in the lounge near their gate.

"Hey, Kai," Wan asked, checking his phone for the time. "When does our plane flight leave?"

Kai, puzzled by the question—they had gone over this nearly a dozen times—checked his ticket. "3:15pm. Why?"

"Ummm…" Wan said, pointing to the clock on his phone. It said "3:13pm."

"Shit," Kai said, looking at the line ahead of them. At least a dozen people were still ahead. The elderly man at the front seemed very lost, slowly reaching for his wallet to grab his identification. This nearly took a minute.

"**Flight 2874 for Yangchen International Airport: Last Call**," a woman said over a microphone. Kai and Wan looked at each other nervously.

"Umm, excuse me!" Wan shouted ahead to the security guard checking identification. "That's our flight!"

"…so…?" he said dismissively.

"So…" Wan said, dropping his bags. He turned to Kai, and nodded plainly before approaching the security guard, motioning to whisper in his ear. The guard's eyes widened considerably as he pointed to Kai. Immediately, Kai knew exactly what his friend had told this _stranger_. The guard nodded eagerly, motioning for Kai to join them.

Shaking his head profusely at Wan, the two of them passed through the security after getting identification checked. Once they were out of hearing from the rest of the people in the line, Kai slapped Wan across the back aggressively.

"Why did you do that?!" he whispered angrily.

"We can debate this later, c'mon!" he shouted, breaking into a run, his bag dangling in his hand as they approached Marion, who was halfway through the gate. "Hey!"

"About time, geez," she said, raising an eyebrow. "What happened back there?"

"Whaddya mean?" Wan asked, breathing heavily as he and Kai walked through the gateway with their travelling companion.

"How'd you jump the line so quickly?"

"I told him that Kai was expecting his firstborn," Wan said, entirely on the fly. Kai once more slapped the back of his head.

"What the _hell_?"

"You're not going to be a father, right…?" Marion asked quizzically. "You look too young."

"That's because _I am_," Kai said.

"I have to admit, though," Marion said with a giggle, "that's pretty funny."

Kai shook his head as they sat down—him and Wan in their seats and Marion a couple aisles in front of them. They were finally on their way to the Western Air Temple. Soon enough, Kai would learn how to airbend.

* * *

**Author's Note: I think we're really starting to hit our stride with this story! New character, with different powers! Now that they're finally on their journey, how do you think Kai's first attempt at airbending will go? Will we finally see Wan earthbend? What the hell is up with those punks from the tea house? Is Kai _really_ going to be a father? No, definitely not! See ya next time!**


	4. Chapter 4: Bisons and Chiefs

**Chapter 4: Bisons and Chiefs**

"Geez…flying bison are enormous," Kai said as he looked up at the massive, white-furred, six-legged creature standing before him.

"Well of course they are!" Marion said, with a slightly smug tone. "Did you expect them to be smaller?"

"Err…no, guess not," Kai replied, still staring up at the creature. It had shaggy white fur, a flat, manatee-like tail, brown eyes, and a brown arrow that ran along its back from the tip of the tail to the forehead, and four stripes running over its back and tail, which also ended in a brown tip. It had six feet with three toes on each foot.

The flying bison, which was called Sammy, would be their transport to the Western Air Temple. After an unusually peaceful trip to the Yangchen Airport, on the outskirts of the northern mountain range where the temples were hidden, Marion guided Kai and Wan to a rental service just outside of the airport. There, for a heavy fee, they paid for a rental bison.

"Hey, Marion," Wan said just after they mounted the creature. Kai nervously looked down as they started to take off, gripping Marion's small stomach as she guided the creature into the air. "Don't airbenders usually have flying bison? I think they get one when they're learning how to airbend."

Marion, who up until now had been rather private about her past, shot a glance back at Wan—and a very afraid Kai—before looking back ahead. "Yes, they usually do."

"And…?"

"I don't have one. Let's leave it at that," she said abruptly.

"Where _did_ you learn…eum…airbending?" Kai said, suddenly feeling a little sick.

"Eastern Air Temple," Marion said, just as abruptly as before."

"How old are you, if you don't mind us asking," Wan asked, noticing that Kai was clearly incapable of speaking at this point.

"I'm 18. You?"

"20. Kai is 19. Did you always live in the Eastern Air Temple? I mean, when did you come to Republic City?"

"About a year ago. Look, I need to focus. It's been a while since I've been on a flying bison," Marion said, not bothering to look back at Wan. Eventually, Kai let go of her and lay down on the bison's back while Wan sat there, taking in the view.

It didn't take long for them to get to the temples. After roughly an hour, the mountainside temples were in sight. Kai, starting to feel better, sat up and looked at the view. He didn't expect the temples to be so hidden, relatively speaking. As they got closer, Kai noticed that spires were hanging upside-down from the "ceiling" of the enclaves.

They finally landed, to the welcome of no one. Men of varying heights—they were all extraordinarily thin—walked about, no one in particular noticing the trio of travelers and their rental flying bison land on the circular landing pad, designed specifically for the furry white creature.

"So…we're here," Wan announced once he slid off of Sammy and onto the stone platform, looking around at the men in yellow and orange garb with light blue arrows wrapped over their heads. "Marion, who should we talk to?"

"Err…" Marion said, looking around. "I guess the Chief Sage. My temple had a Chief Nun, but I guess that'd be a bit different here," she said. "Let's ask around."

Wan and Kai followed her, their bags slung around their shoulders and backs. In their city clothes, the two young men stuck out like sore thumbs. This drew unintended attention, with all of the nomads looking quizzically at the trio. Even Marion, a native airbender, looked wildly different than their conceptions of proper attire.

"Excuse me," one of the Nomads said curiously, "may we help you youngsters?" he was tall, wearing an orange shawl over a long-sleeved yellow shirt and double-layered pants with a loose yellow layer on top, and high boots just below the knees. He had a light blue arrow over his head and down his arms, and a white handlebar mustache.

"Hi, I'm Marion of the Eastern Air Temple. These are my companions, Kai and Wan. They're here on research, and we'd like to speak with the Chief Sage of the temples."

The man nodded, albeit apprehensively. "Sure, of course. Follow me," he said, leading the trio away from the landing platform and deeper into the mountain. The tunnels were wide, with columns sitting against the walls and spaced out evenly every 10 yards or so. Eventually, they reached a circular room with several statues. Kai, looking around, felt a sense of déjà vu as he looked at the stone figures. It was as if he recognized them all. "Chief Lu, we have some visitors."

An ancient-looking man, who had previously been meditating in the middle of the room, slowly opened his eyes—bags gathering underneath them—and gazed up at the four people standing in front of him. He had an exhausted expression. Like his fellow nomads, he also had a blue arrow on his head and arms, and wore yellow and orange garb, although he wore a massive necklace with circular stones on them with the airbending emblem on the largest one in the center. Upon seeing Kai, his eyes widened.

"…you," he croaked. "I foresaw your arrival."

"Foresaw…?" Marion and the other nomad said, almost simultaneously. Wan, however, was not surprised.

"You…boy. At last, the Avatar has come."

Kai could hear Marion's jaw drop to the floor. Ignoring it, he stepped forward, bowing respectfully. "Hello. My name is Kai, and I would like to learn how to airbend here."

Chief Lu nodded. "Kin-seh, you may leave us," he said. The other nomad bowed and left the room. "As should you two," he lifted two fingers and pointed at Marion and Wan, "please leave us. I would like a word with Kai."

They also left, leaving Kai alone with the Chief Sage, who motioned for him to sit.

"Thank you. Kai, how long have you known that you were the Avatar?"

"About a week or so," Kai replied.

"Ah, of course. You see, I was alerted of your presence years ago by the Fire Sages. With the death of Avatar Sakura, we all expected the next one to be a firebender. The sages told not just me, but the other heads of the air temples, as well as the Earth King and chiefs of the Water Tribes of your existence, but not your name. Since I have a good relationship with them, they were able to reveal your name and the circumstances of your discovery to me, and me alone. You do not know what you are facing, do you?"

"No, I do not," Kai said, staring directly at Chief Lu.

"Of course. That is fair. Neither do I, as it seems. The future is clouded, and I do not have the mental or spiritual strength to see further into it. Now tell me, you are far along in your firebending training, yes?"

Kai looked down. _Do I tell him the truth?_ He was not very good at firebending. Yet, at the same time, he needed to learn, and learn quickly. "Yes, I am."

"Fair, I trust your word on that," Chief Lu replied, which made Kai gulp silently. "You will learn how to airbend with me and the rest of the sages. Will your friends be accompanying you for the rest of your stay?"

"Erm…I believe so. I'm not sure about Marion," Kai said, truly unsure about the little woman who had helped him thus far.

"I see. Well, the invitation is extended to her as well. You see, Kai, friends and companions are incredibly helpful to any quest, in particular this one. It was Avatar Aang, the last airbender to become the Avatar, who was able to defeat Fire Lord Ozai with the help of his friends. Of course, his mastery of the elements and the Avatar State was also critical."

"Avatar State?" Kai asked. He had only vaguely heard of this, but he did not know much about it.

"Oh," Chief Lu said quietly, clearly taken aback by this, "You have much to learn. In time, I'm sure. Now, please make yourself at home here. Tomorrow morning, at 6am, I would like to begin your training."

Kai nodded before standing back up. "Thank you, Chief Lu," he bowed, "I truly appreciate your guidance."

Lu nodded, before returning to a meditative state. Kai then turned around and left the room. The conversation with the Chief Sage didn't seem to alleviate any of his anxieties.

"_You're_ the Avatar!?" Marion shouted as soon as she saw Kai exit the tunnel and enter the edge of the temples, near where they had previously landed. Her outburst had attracted the attention of the nearly two dozen air nomads walking around, all of whom turned to stare at the three visitors.

"Err…yeah," Kai said nervously, scratching the back of his head, "can we talk about this somewhere else, please?"

Marion, clearly with more on her mind, nodded, turning and walking with Wan to what Sage Kin-seh designated at their lodging—the bottom room of a spire closer to the inner sanctum of the temples. Getting into the room was easier than it looked. It took all of ten minutes to go up the stairs into the ceiling and then down the spire into their room. It had one bedroom and a suite roughly the size of Kai's dormitory. Kin-seh then showed Wan and Marion to their rooms and, within minutes of him leaving, the three were reunited in Kai's to discuss Marion's feelings.

"Why didn't you tell me!?" she said, almost as loudly as before.

"Well, I didn't know you very well, and so I couldn't trust you," Kai explained. Marion calmed down at this. She didn't look satisfied, but nodded to communicate her understanding. "You see, I wasn't told until a few days before I met you. In fact, it was Wan who first suggested it," Kai then explained the day he found out his new identity, going into as much detail as he could. "When we saw you airbend, Wan wanted to bring you along with us, since he hoped that you could get us here."

"And so you could help teach Kai airbending," Wan added.

"Well, I have sages for—"

"I can try," Marion interrupted. "I don't know as much as them, but I can help you with the basics," she said, having significantly calmed down. "I'm sorry if I was too loud just now, or too crass when we first met. I loved learning about the Avatar, and adore Avatar Aang. I'd really like to help you out, if I can."

Kai was surprised by this. He, in all honesty, did not believe that Marion would even want to stay the night here. Up until now, she seemed relatively uncomfortable.

"Uh, well…err, thank you, Marion. I appreciate it."

"No problem…Avatar Kai," she said, raising both eyebrows.

"Please _don't_ call me that," Kai replied, holding a hand out and shaking his head.

"Oh why not! Wan does it!" Marion whined.

"I don't like it when he does that, either!" Kai stated.

"I'm usually right, though, so eventually this will be your new title," Wan said with a wink.

Kai sighed heavily. "Just…_stop_."

Marion tilted her head a little. "You don't seem happy about this. Are…you alright?"

"Yep, I'm fine. I've got a lot on my mind, that's all," Kai replied.

"I get that. Would you like us to leave?" she asked.

"If you could, that'd be nice," Kai said. Quickly, Marion and Wan got off of Kai's bed and left the room, leaving the latter to sit at his desk, pondering his conversation with Chief Lu and the upcoming training he would undergo. Turning his chair around to face the desk, he noticed two short shelves hanging above the desk on the slanted wall. Reaching up, Kai grabbed the first one he found. It read: "_The Fundamentals of Airbending, Vol. 1_."

Kai opened the book to the first page, just past the table of contents. It was a chapter on the origins of airbending. Some of the terms and phrases looked familiar to him from his history classes, such as "Era of Raava," and "Giant Lion Turtle."

Airbending was granted to humans by the air lion turtle to help them grab food after leaving their village on the turtle itself. Afterwards, they permanently left the turtle and learned how to airbend from flying bison, who manipulate air by using their large, flat tails, and can fly without the use of wings or any other means of gravitational defiance.

Kai continued reading, finishing the first chapter before his head crashed onto the desk. It had been another long day, and he needed the sleep before the first of many grueling bending lessons.

* * *

**Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed!**


	5. Chapter 5: Learning to breathe

**Chapter 5: **Learning to breathe

"Air is the element of freedom," Chief Lu said calmly, slowly raising both of his arms and holding his palms to the sky. Suddenly, Kai noticed the air _moving_ around in his hands to create two small spheres. "The air is the most abundant element we have. You might hear waterbenders or earthbenders say otherwise, but they do not have the same flexibility, physically speaking, that airbenders do.

"To master airbending, you must learn how to follow the path of least resistance. I'm sure, as a firebender, this is unfamiliar to you. Firebending is the most aggressive of the four arts, and air is the least. You must learn how to defend yourself. However, do not mistake airbending as not being offensive. Airbending, used offensively, can debilitate a foe with relative ease. It is not the purpose, nor the goal, of airbending or of anyone seeking to master airbending."

Kai nodded. It was a simple enough concept. He was outside, near the landing pad they were at previously. As it turned out, they had arrived quite close to the training grounds for airbenders. Marion pointed out that this wasn't the same in other temples, particularly the Eastern Air Temple. While Chief Lu was explaining this to Kai, he noticed flying bison landing and lifting off of the ground almost constantly.

"Let's start by a simple breathing exercise," Chief Lu said. "Just breathe in and out. Focus on the air moving through your nose, your lungs, and finally out of your mouth."

Kai closed his eyes and lightly sucked air in through his mouth, instead of his nose. Almost as suddenly, he released it through his mouth again.

"Slower, Kai. Airbending is a slow art. It is calm. It is peaceful."

"Got it, thank you," Kai said, repeating the exercise, this time through his nose. He slowed how much air he took in, and waited a moment before releasing the air. Opening his eyes, he looked at Chief Lu.

"What did you feel?"

"Err, just…air," Kai said simply. He remembered having to do this during doctor's appointments growing up. It was an easy enough task, but he didn't feel anything beyond that. At least, clearly not what Chief Lu was looking for.

Lu sighed. "Alright, let's try again."

Kai tried again.

And again.

And…again.

"What do you feel?"

"Air. Just air," Kai said, shaking his head.

"Are you _focusing_?" Lu asked.

"I'm trying to."

Lu looked up to the ceiling, and then back at Kai. "You cannot, and will not, master airbending if you are incapable of the basics. Even if you're the Avatar."

"I'm trying though!" Kai exclaimed.

"I believe you, Kai. I can tell that you are not comfortable moving out of your comfort zone. That is understandable enough. However, you must also recognize the fact that you are the Avatar, and you must take this seriously. That means learning the basics as soon as possible."

Kai nodded, with light frustration. He knew Lu was right, and he knew he was taking this seriously. _So what's the problem?_ Kai thought to himself. _Why can't I figure this out?_

"Alright, I'll try it again," Kai said calmly, sitting down in a meditative position. He took in a light amount of air. _Focus on the air_, he said, feeling it move through his system, into his lungs. Then, the air released itself through his mouth, and Kai breathed out loudly, as if gasping for air.

_That's not normal_…he felt. _Why did I choke there? I was just breathing like I normally do…_

Chief Lu raised an eyebrow. "What did you feel this time?"

"Something," Kai said, with a half-smile. "I felt something."

"Good, good. Keep practicing that for the rest of the day. I'll check back in tomorrow, and we can work on more advanced exercises."

Lu and Kai bowed to one another, and the former turned and left the platform, leaving Kai alone.

"So…how'd it go?" Marion asked, after what seemed like minutes. Kai opened his eyes to see Marion and Wan crouched in front of him, the setting sun in the background. Kai shook his head and rubbed his eyes. _Was I sleeping?_

"It…it's gonna be a slow process, I think."

"Really?" Marion said with surprise. "What did you work on today?"

"Breathing," Kai said.

"That's it?" Marion asked, getting a simple nod from Kai. "Were you having trouble with it, or something?"

"At first, yes. Chief Lu wanted me to feel the air moving through my body. For some reason, I had difficulty doing just that," Kai said, slightly frustrated. "I've been practicing for, apparently, hours now, and all I feel is just…air. That's it. I don't feel anything more than that!"

Marion laughed. "Oh Kai! That's because you're looking for something deeper! The key to airbending is just that—feeling the air in and around you!"

Kai slumped his head forward. "Of course…" he said, deflated.

"Don't give up, Kai! Now that you know this, the next step will be easier!" Wan said.

"But I made a mistake! I shouldn't need these things explained to me!" Kai said. He put his hands in his head, not understanding his confusion and frustration.

"How about this? Let's get some food, and then get back to it later!" Wan said, "And Marion can help you then!"

Kai nodded, slowly standing up. "Yeah, I'm starving. Haven't eaten all day."

"That's why you're struggling, then!" Wan said confidently. "Eat something, then come back to it! You'll think and feel much better."

Marion guided Wan and Kai through the temples, to what she believed was a sort of mess hall deep in the mountains. Neither of them would have guessed it, given the natural-looking light, courtesy of the Fire Nation, according to Marion. Tall, wide chandeliers hung from the top of the room and gave off a light that was bright enough that it seemed to imitate sunlight.

"How do they do that…?" Wan asked curiously.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Marion replied. "Kai would probably know that better than I do, since he's from the Fire Nation."

Kai shook his head. "I don't, actually."

Marion gave him a concerned look, and turned back towards the end of the hall, where a young, bald man stood in an orange gown and a smile on his face. "Hello, welcome to the mess hall. You…don't look familiar, is this your first time?" He said, looking exclusively at Marion before turning his attention to Wan and, particularly, Kai. "Oh! Ah, yes yes, Master Kai, what would you like tonight?"

Kai, surprised by this reaction, nodded, and pointed to the bread and cauliflower soup. Marion and Wan then grabbed their food, and found a table in the corner of the hall.

Throughout dinner, Kai was unusually silent, only speaking when asked a question. _Why did I freeze earlier? Why did I get so frustrated? This is not the sort of thing that…no, never mind. This does frustrate me. The little things do._

_That doesn't solve the problem of my difficulty breathing. If I can't figure this out, then I can't airbend. And I might as well give up on being the Avatar._

_But wait…what if I'm actually not the Avatar? If I was, then this would come naturally to me, right? Marion can't learn anything besides airbending, and Wan can't learn anything but Earthbending. And I can barely learn firebending. I…might not actually be the Avatar._

"Kai…? Kai…?" he looked up. Marion and Wan were both staring right at him. "You okay, buddy?" Wan asked, a worried expression etched across his face.

"Ye-yeah, I am. Just thinking, I guess."

"About airbending?" Marion asked.

Kai nodded. "Just…trying to figure out why I'm struggling with it all."

Marion nodded. "Well, want to give it another try?" Wan asked.

At the edge of the mountains, Marion and Kai stood several feet apart.

"Feet at shoulder length, arms like this," she held her arms out to her sides, with her elbows bent just above her hips. "This pose helps me breathe easier. When I started learning how to airbend, I needed help controlling it. Which is sort of the opposite of your problem, I suppose. But the problem we share is that we couldn't get the correct amount of air moving through us and around us—our relationship with the element was disjointed, in a way.

"Now, I want you to try breathing this way. Take in as much air as comes naturally to you—not too much, and not too little. Too much, and you'll just blow it all out. Too little, and you'll be gasping for air soon enough. For beginners, it's easier to breathe through your nose, so that you can easily control the amount you take in.

"Once you do that, allow it to move down into your lungs. You need to feel it move, or else you'll easily lose control and not connect properly with the element. Once it's in your lungs, feel it move back upwards and out of your mouth. It sounds more complicated than it actually is. That's…just how I always thought about it."

"Got it, thanks Marion," Kai said, breathing in. Once more, he felt the air move through his nose, into his lungs…and back out of his mouth. It was instantaneous, but he felt something. "Woah."

"What happened?" Marion asked, exiting her pose and looking at Kai.

"I felt something. It was…like someone was reaching out to me. But I couldn't sense what it was."

"Ah, that's the element I think. Try again!" she said, a little excited.

Kai did, once more feeling something. _She's right…it's the air moving through me. I get it now!_ "Yes! I got it!"

Marion held her hand in the air. Kai, opening his eyes, noticed a small hand close to him, and slapped it. "Thank you. Now I won't look like a fool in front of Chief Lu."

"Well, it's more than that, right? He shouldn't care if you're a fool or not. He isn't a proper master, I guess…" Marion said, her voice trailing. "Anyways, let's keep it up. Keep practicing!"

The following morning, Kai sat with Chief Lu for their next lesson. The Chief Sage stared at him blankly, his thin eyes carefully studying Kai.

"So, let's try breathing again, shall we?" Chief Lu asked. Kai nodded, practicing the exercise as he and Marion had the previous night. "Did you feel something?"

Kai opened his eyes, slightly disturbed. "…no, I did not. H-how…?"

"Kai, I don't understand this. You should naturally be connecting with the element. I…I've never seen this before."

Kai slammed his fists onto his knees. "It worked last night! I stood up, like this," he said, getting into the same pose Marion taught him, "and I felt a connection. It was slight, but it was there! I felt the air moving through me, I felt a certain energy, a certain power!"

Lu stood up, examining Kai. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I am," Kai said with confidence.

"Hmm…I see. Well, let's try that, but sitting down. You must learn how to properly meditate," Kai nodded, sitting down again. "Don't try the breathing this time. Just…focus on your mind. Focus your thoughts."

Kai nodded, closing his eyes again and sitting in a meditative position. His thoughts immediately went to recent memories—his dinner with Wan and Marion; his tutoring with Marion; reading _The Fundamentals of Airbending_; learning about Avatar Aang…

Then he saw something else. His parents; his brother and sister; the first time he conjured fire. Suddenly, images unrelated to one another quickly swam around in his mind's eye. A vortex of moments, events in his past that, without noticed, collided.

"Ow!" Kai shouted, holding his hand up to his head.

"Kai, what's wrong?" Chief Lu asked. "What did you see?"

"No-nothing important. Just past memories, that's all."

Chief Lu looked concerned, but nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's try something else, then. Follow me."

They stood up, and Chief Lu guided Kai over to the other side of the mountain, where tall poles stood motionless a few feet from one another. Each pole had a large wooden flag on them, with the airbending symbol etched in the center.

"These are airbending gates. The goal of this exercise is to move through the gates without touching them. The purpose is to learn how to change your direction at a moment's notice. You can, and will, be able to do this using the air around you as guidance. Eventually, you'll move seamlessly through the gates, almost as if you're walking on air."

Kai nodded, walking up to the first few gates. Suddenly, he felt a gust of wind from behind him, causing the gates to start spinning rapidly. Turning around, he saw Chief Lu with his palm sticking straight out, at shoulder level. Kai gulped, turned back, and approached the gates.

Immediately, he felt the first one whack him in the shoulder, causing him to stumble forward. A second one smacked him in the side of the face. He spun around, a third one hitting his back and knocking him face-first into the ground, directly underneath the gates. He lay there until the gates stopped spinning, thinking about his quick and decisive failure.

"Try again. This time, slower," Chief Lu said. Kai got onto his feet, leaving the gates before turning back around to face them a second time.

The same gust of wind, and Kai was off. Slowly, he moved through the first gate before accidentally moving his arm forward. The gate slammed into his arm, knocking him off balance and, after hitting the gates a couple more times, was once more knocked to the ground.

"We will work on it, Kai," Chief Lu said. "Give it time."

Kai stood up, his face, arms, legs, and shoulder bruised. He turned to Chief Lu, sighed, and nodded. _Whatever I need to do, I guess_.

He turned to face the gates a third time.

* * *

**Author's Note: It's been a while! Hello! Sorry it took a while to update this story-life got in the way, as did an unwillingness to write, in all honesty. I hope you liked this episode, though. Looks like Kai is having a hard time with airbending, how will he break through and figure it all out?**


	6. Chapter 6: Wrong about him

**Chapter 6: Wrong about him**

"Ow!" Kai said as he felt the air gate slap the back of his head. Rubbing the center of the bruise, he turned to Chief Lu, who sighed deeply.

"Kai…what is going on with you?" he said solemnly. "It's been a week now, and you've made little improvement on mastering the air gates."

Kai moved outside of the course and stood several feet from Lu. "I…I don't know. I am trying, I swear!"

"The Avatar learns the bending arts faster than an ordinary person would. It's taking you more than a week to learn the basics," Chief Lu said in a disappointed tone. "I need to meditate on this. Please leave, study from your books, and we will reconvene tomorrow."

Lu then turned to leave the practice field. Minutes later, hands balled into fists, Kai walked away as well. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ He thought to himself. _He's going to kick me out. Tell me I'm not the Avatar, and that this was all a mistake and a waste of time_. _I can't do this; I can't do this…_

He looked up. Kai was standing at the edge of the mountain now, overlooking the mountains beyond, lightly surrounded by white clouds moving through the sky. He sighed, his fists loosening; letting out a breathe of air.

Kai shook his head, turned around, and walked back to his room. It had been a long week.

"…Kai…?" Wan's voice permeated through the door separating Kai's room from the rest of the world. The man in question lifted his head from his pillow and stared groggily at the door before slumped out of bed and towards it. "Hey, you alright?"

Kai, rubbing his eyes, nodded. "What…time is it?"

"It's dinner time. I take it you fell asleep?" Wan asked.

"I suppose so. Where's Marion?" Kai asked, looking around.

"She's already there, getting us a table. Are you sure you're okay? You look exhausted."

"I am exhausted," Kai said abruptly before putting on a jacket and walking out of the room with Wan. "What have you been up to all day?"

"Well, Marion and I finished a tour of the temples. It's really fascinating stuff, Kai. During the Hundred Years' War, this had been the longest untouched temple in the world. Until Combustion Man attacked it in search of Avatar Aang."

"Really now?" Kai said, putting his hands in his pockets. _Avatar Aang had no difficulty learning the other elements. They came naturally to him, right?_

"Yeah! There aren't many sources from that day, but stories tell of a man who could project explosions from a third eye tattoo on his forehead. Wild power, right?"

"That's pretty crazy…"

"Yeah! The things that you can do with firebending…" Wan said. "Since you're the Avatar, I'm sure you'll be able to perform some pretty crazy tricks of your own, too!"

"Maybe. I'm not so sure about that."

"Why is that? Why're you unsure?" Wan asked. He didn't get a response, as Kai noticed Marion and waved to her as a means of avoiding the question. Marion waved back, motioning them over to the table she secured. Two plates sat across from her, filled with uneaten food. When Kai and Wan sat down, the latter repeated his question.

"How was your day, Marion?" Kai asked, once more deflecting the question. He seemed slightly more cheerful now.

"It was fine. Wan and I completed the tour of the temples, and I spent some time practicing airbending again. You having to learn it has gotten me back into it too, I suppose."

"Again…?"

"Well, yeah. Before I met you two, I hadn't used it much. If I'm going to help you learn airbending, then I'm going to need to remember a thing or two."

Kai nodded, silently eating his meal. Wan and Marion looked at each other, realizing the same thing. "Kai, what's wrong?" they said simultaneously.

"Nothing," Kai replied abruptly. "I'm just tired, as I already told you, Wan."

"Air gates are tough, that's for sure," Marion said.

"Even tougher when you can't properly learn them," Kai said. He thought back to the numerous attempts at the gates—bruises everywhere, physically and mentally. Each time the gate smacked against him, he felt even worse about his ability to learn than before. Each time the gate smacked against him, Kai was reminded of why he wasn't cut out to do this. Each time, he wanted to get up and quit, leave the temples, and continue with his education as any ordinary young adult would. He felt forced into this, by forces beyond his control. He felt like the sages were wrong about him—he couldn't possibly be the avatar, right?

"What's getting you down?" Wan asked. "Is there anything you might be missing? Something that isn't connecting?"

Kai shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. I keep trying to figure it out, but nothing is coming to mind. Every time, I'm using all of my senses, even the air around me, to avoid them. But it just seems like it doesn't matter—they'll hit me regardless."

"You're probably looking at it the wrong way, then," Marion stated. "You're focusing too much on the gates, and not enough on the movement of your body. At least, that's how it sounds to me."

Kai nodded. "I'll give it a try tomorrow. But Chief Lu didn't seem happy about it. I think he's losing confidence in me."

"That's not true. I think he's just trying to figure out how to properly train the Avatar. He hasn't had to before, right?"

"Probably. He's not old enough to have trained the previous Avatar. If anything, he might have been around the same age, but that's it. Anyway, I don't know if him misunderstanding all of this is the problem—I think the problem is me."

"Why do you think that?" Wan asked.

"Because this stuff—airbending—should come easily to the Avatar. I know it's difficult for opposite elements, but firebending and airbending are not opposites. For me, waterbending should be the most difficult. I could tell Chief Lu was disappointed in me, that he was clearly thinking about what to do with me. I don't know, but I have a feeling I'm going to get…laid off? I'm not sure what the correct word for it is."

"He's not going to lay you off, Kai," Marion said. "It's important that the Avatar is taught, at all costs. It's literally his job."

"But what if I'm not the Avatar? What if the sages got it wrong?" Kai asked.

"There's no way," Wan said, "they couldn't have. Again, it's literally their job."

"Well, it's also my job to learn the elements. If I can't do that, am I worthy of having the job? Do I belong? People can get things wrong, Wan."

Wan shook his head, electing to finish his dinner instead of respond to Kai. Marion, too, fell silent, leaving the three of them to eat in peace.

"Hiya!" Kai looked up to see a young bald boy staring at him with wide brown eyes. "You-you're Kai, right?"

Kai nodded slowly, conjuring a smile before responding, "Yes, I am. And…you are?"

"Victor! My friends call me Vic, though. I'm a huge fan of yours!"

"Do you know who I am?" Kai asked curiously.

"Yes, you're the Avatar!"

Kai laughed. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I heard you've had difficulty with airbending. I'd like to help you out!"

"Well, Vic, I appreciate the offer. I think I have it down, though. I'm getting better, and I think…I think it'll be alright. But thanks."

Vic nodded. "No problem! Good luck!" he then ran off, his oversized orange robe dragging on the ground.

Kai sighed. "What was that?"

"You have a fan, Kai," Wan said. "Which I think is awesome. The Avatar is supposed to give people hope. This won't be the first time that happens."

"I don't like it very much, honestly," Kai said, oddly dismissive. "He seemed nice but…I'm not exactly the most hopeful person myself. I don't know why others would."

"Again, it's your position. But people will see more than that soon enough."

Kai shook his head. "Sure, sure."

* * *

A semi-circle of five men sat before Kai, with Chief Lu sitting calmly in the center. They were in the inner sanctum of the Western Air Temple, each of the men sitting on a bright orange and yellow cushion. They were sitting in a cross-legged position, each staring at Kai.

"Kai, the Council of Elders of the Western Air Temple would like to speak with you regarding your airbending training," Chief Lu said sternly.

Kai nodded. _This is it. I'm screwed…_

"We believe there is…potential in you to learn airbending. After all, you _are_ the Avatar."

"Supposedly," the man to Lu's immediate right said lazily. He received an affirmative nod from Lu, which didn't surprise Kai in the least.

"Right, supposedly. An Avatar should not spend an entire day learning to breathe. Not even Avatar Korra, who famously had difficulty learning Airbending, had no difficulty with it. We're concerned about several things: we are losing hope that you are, in fact, the Avatar that we're looking to train. Additionally, we believe that your training in firebending is severely incomplete as well."

"How do you figure that?" Kai replied. They were correct, of course, but how could they tell?"

Chief Lu sighed. "Once you have completed training in your base element, you should have an easier time learning the basics of others. This, you must understand, is not always the case. However, after judging your performance over the past week, it's quite obvious you are not ready for this. You are not made for this."

_I knew it_, Kai thought.

"Do you understand?"

"I do. I had a similar feeling."

Chief Lu nodded. "Perceptive. That's important. I'm glad you can understand our position here. It wasn't an easy choice to come to."

_Really now…_Kai thought to himself. "I bet it was."

"Young man!" the Elder to Chief Lu's right shouted. "You will not disrespect the Council!"

"Relax, Tin, he is acting out understandably. Kai, I wish you the best in life, wherever it takes you. You are dismissed."

Kai nodded, turning on his feet and walking out of the room. Wan and Marion were waiting outside, near the field with the airbending gates. Marion was showing Wan how to properly move through them, when the latter noticed Kai walking out.

"Marion!" Wan shouted. The airbender shot into the air, above the gates, before rolling through the air and landing on the ground comfortably. They both looked at Kai, who now seemed distressed.

"Did…everything go well…?" Marion asked, noticing Kai's expression.

"I…was kicked out. They won't train me anymore."

"No…" Wan said in a distressed tone. "You're kidding."

"Why would I, Wan? Why!?" Kai said, thrusting his hands into the air. "I knew I couldn't airbend, and they confirmed what I already knew. Where's the surprise there?"

"Well, where are we going now?"

"We?" Kai asked, looking at Wan. "Wan, I know where I'm going. You really don't have to follow me around."

"Where are you even going?" Marion asked, ignoring Kai.

"I was thinking of going to the Fire Nation. I barely know firebending, and so I might as well try there."

"Do you believe that you're the Avatar?" Marion asked in a serious tone.

Kai thought about it. _Truthfully, I'm not sure yet._ "I don't know. If I can't master firebending, then I'm certain that I'm not the Avatar. I'll just be some…guy who can't do anything right."

Wan and Marion nodded. They looked at one another and turned back to Kai. Before they spoke, he knew what they were going to say.

"Fine. You can come…" Kai said. "But it won't be exciting, I'm sure."

"Firebending is actually really cool to watch," Marion commented as they left the field. "You can actually _see_ what you're doing. Airbending is…well, obviously not as transparent."

"It's not as exciting to use, Marion," Kai said with a sigh. "Anyway, maybe we should head out now? What do you think?"

"Let's leave tomorrow morning. It wouldn't kill them to allow us to stay another night," Marion said with a smirk. To this, Kai smiled—for the first time that day.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed!**


	7. Chapter 7: The new Fire Temple

**Chapter 7:** **The new Fire Temple**

_"Ouch!" Kai shouted as he felt the orange flame grace his palm. "That hurt, Dad!"_

_"Kai, you're a firebender—you can't be afraid of it," Ren said in a calm, stern tone. "I know you're scared, but if you want to make the Pro-bending Junior League team, you'll need to learn how to firebend."_

_Kai looked up at his father, who towered over his 7-year old son. Ren bent down onto one knee and held his son's hand, rubbing the burn with an oil that his wife had given him. It looked like light blue juice, but slightly more viscous. "Ow!"_

_"It's okay, son. It'll hurt for a second, but Mom says it'll make the burn go away," they both looked at it. The red burn mark was slowly, but surely, disappearing on the young Kai's hand. "Now, let's try something different. Instead of being around fire, I want you to try and create it yourself!"_

_"But…how do I do that?" Kai asked. "Earthbenders and airbenders and waterbenders don't create things. How will I?"_

_"Because, firebending is the only art that allows you to actually create it yourself. You have to find it within _you_," Ren said, lightly poking Kai's chest. "Right there. Remember watching the firebenders on TV? They do the same thing."_

_Kai looked down at the concrete below him, and then back at his father. He tried to remember a moment where he had noticed a firebender, relying entirely on his memory of a movie he saw—about Fire Lord Zuko._

_Kai then looked at his hand, and tried to think of the movie he saw. In it, the actor playing the former Fire Lord was punching the air in front of him, tossing massive fireballs out left and right. Kai then did the same, getting into the stance he had learned in school, and thrust his left fist forward, towards Ren._

_"Woah! Watch it!" Ren shouted, shifting to his left before noticing that nothing emitted from his son's fist. "Even if you don't plan on throwing fire around, you need to pay attention to your surroundings, Kai."_

_"Oops, sorry Dad," Kai said apologetically, rubbing the top of his head in regret._

_"It's okay, just try again," Ren said without anger. Kai nodded, and thrust another fist outwards; this time, his right hand._

_Nothing again._

_"Daaaad, nothings happening!" Kai whined, letting his hands droop to his sides. _

_"That's just fine—your form was perfect, though! You'll get it! We just have to keep trying at it, every day, alright?"_

_Kai nodded, continuing to throw fists in front of him._

Kai looked over the edge of the flying bison they were on, overlooking the western sea. It had been two days; two days in which Kai left the Western Air Temple with his two friends, Marion and Wan, to journey back to the Fire Nation.

He was still afraid of heights—his time at the temple did nothing to change that. As he was conscious of his fear, he considered how that might be playing a role in his inability to airbend. Realizing how absurdly silly the idea sounded, he retracted himself from the edge of the bison and back into his seat.

Wan was reading a book, and Marion was sitting near the bison's neck, guiding the creature through the air. They had been airborne for several hours at this point, having taken a lengthy stop on a small island just south of the Western Air Temple.

"So Kai," Marion asked, without looking back at him, "what are you planning to do when we get to the Fire Nation?" she asked.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about that," Kai said, carefully traversing the furry back of the bison, to get closer to the small brunette woman guiding the creature.

"About where specifically I'm going?" Marion asked with a hint of frustration. Since they left the temple, she kept asking Kai about the details of their journey—mainly, their actual destination. Each time she asked, Kai simply gave the generic answer—the Fire Nation. In truth, he had no idea where to go, and when he finally relayed that to Marion, she was all but happy.

"Err…yes, now I know," Kai said.

"Okay, let's hear it," Marion said calmly, but her demanding tone sent chills down Kai's spine.

"Crescent Island," Kai said with less confidence than an avatar should normally have.

"Where's that?" Marion replied, now less harsh but more confused.

"It's an island in the eastern part of the Fire Nation," Wan explained, looking up from his book. "Known mainly for its shrine to Avatar Roku."

"The last avatar born in the Fire Nation…" Marion said. "That makes a lot of sense. If you're going to understand firebending, he's the guy to talk to."

Kai nodded. "I think the shrine is still there, so hopefully I can try to speak with him."

"It's very likely not," Wan said, forcing both Kai and Marion to flip their heads in his direction. "Roku's spirit destroyed it."

"But…I thought Avatar Aang restored it?" Marion asked.

"He didn't, actually. In fact, he was there when it was destroyed. Plus, Avatar Korra destroyed the spiritual connection between the avatars, so Kai should have no way to contact Roku in the first place."

"…and you're saying this now…?" Kai asked.

"Well, didn't you just now decide to go there?" Wan countered.

Kai was silent for a moment. There was a very good chance all of this would be for naught. He would lose all hope of learning firebending from the one person who could best teach him. To be sure, most firebenders could teach Kai. However, in the time he needed to learn the art, he needed a master, which significantly lessened the pool of available tutors. Crescent Island, of all places, seemed like the right place to start.

"We'll go there anyway," Kai decided, looking at Wan and Marion. "Maybe the temple is gone—but I'd like to see for myself."

Wan, smiling, nodded in agreement. "That's a good choice. One befitting of an Avatar."

"Or literally any functioning adult human," Kai said, dumping water over the compliment. "Regardless, I think it'd be a good thing to go, and I'm glad you both agree on that."

"Of course we do—we're in this together," Wan said with a wink.

Crescent Island looked exactly like it sounds—a small body of land in the shape of a crescent, with a mountain in the center and declining elevation towards the tips. The trio arrived at the island hours after Kai's decision, choosing to land on the northern edge of the island, just near the water.

Looking around, Kai immediately noticed nothing worth writing home about. His surroundings consisted of a small forest in the middle of the island, small waves colliding with the sand on the shore, and a dark brown, dirt-covered ground.

"It's been hundreds of years now since the temple last stood here, Kai," Wan said, grabbing his friend's shoulder. "We should just head to the capitol of the Fire Nation instead."

Kai shook his head. "Let's look around. We might find something," he said, moving forward. Wan and Marion turned to one another, and continued on with their friend.

Birds flew out of the trees in response to Kai's footsteps, which suggested to him that wildlife was clearly not accustomed to strangers. He looked at a nearby tree trunk, noticing a charcoal-colored burn mark on the tree. It looked like some sort of slash mark. Kai lightly ran his hand over it. "So, guess someone was here recently."

"Firebender, most likely," Marion commented.

Kai nodded, and continued on. Soon enough, he started to notice more and more burn marks on the trees. Growing concerned, Kai suddenly lifted his fists into the air in a defense position, and slowly walked through the forest, Wan and Marion closely behind.

"Halt!" a concerned, but stern, voice bellowed out. Kai immediately thrust a fist forward, launching a weak, but quick, fireball through the air. It immediately dissolved, with a tall, bearded man standing in its wake. "Stand down!"

"Who…who are…you?" Kai asked, fists still in front of his face.

"I am Ryu of the Fire Sages. Lower your fists, son, so I may look upon your…face…" Ryu said, his own voice lowering once he saw Kai. "It's…it's you…?"

"Me? Well, I guess so," Kai responded, lowering his hands to his sides. "So, the fire sages are still around here?"

"Of course they are!" Ryu spat, "they have been since your predecessor, Avatar Kai."

"I'm…not the avatar, yet," Kai said in a low tone.

"Yet, but I remember you, Kai. I remember travelling to Fire Fountain and meeting your parents. It was my colleague and chief, Koren, that first discovered you, and led a group of us to your home. We alerted your family of your new identity, and gave them a choice."

"I'm aware. They…told me about it a few weeks ago," Kai admitted.

"I can see that now. Kai, why are you here? You should be learning airbending."

"We…Wan, Marion, and I—we were just there. I tried to learn airbending, but I cannot. Or…not yet, at least."

"And why is that?" Ryu asked, sounding slightly more sympathetic.

"I don't know. I think it's because I haven't yet mastered firebending."

Ryu smirked, and shook his head. "That would make perfect sense. Please, follow me. I think you should meet all of us properly."

Kai nodded and, with Wan and Marion at his side, followed Ryu through the forest until they reached a set of stairs that descended into the island. Confused, Kai walked down the steps, noticing the candles on each side lighting as Ryu walked past them.

"Electricity doesn't exist here, it seems," Wan mumbled to himself.

"Firebenders use fire," Ryu said in a harsh tone, "We also cannot generate electricity on this island. Plus, this is how it's always been done."

They reached the bottom of the stairs, only to enter a hallway the Ryu immediately lit by thrusting fireballs at each one, illuminating the path forward. Down the hallway they walked, noticing statues upon statues of long-bearded men in dark capes and shaded stripes running down the middle and sides.

"This, Kai, is the new Fire Temple. When Avatar Aang first visited Crescent Island, he came to visit Avatar Roku. During that time, the Fire Nation attacked, forcing Roku to use lavabending to destroy the temple. Decades later, Avatar Aang commissioned the reconstruction of the temple, preferring an underground location, as a means of being closer to the volcanic energy contained within the island. Unfortunately, he did not live to see the completion of the temple. It was under Avatar Korra that it was completed."

"Lavabending? What's that?" Wan asked.

"It's an advanced form of firebending, similar to lightning-bending in its difficulty to master. You can control the flow of lava, essentially," Ryu explained.

"Sage Ryu," Kai began, "I'd like to see Avatar Roku."

Ryu stopped, forcing everyone else to in turn. They were roughly 10 yards from the end of the hallway, where a massive steel door stood in their way. "And why would you want to do that?" his voice tensed as he spoke.

"He was the last avatar born in the Fire Nation. I…I was hoping that he could help me understand this, seeing as he is the person most likely to."

Ryu looked towards the doorway. "Avatar Korra ended the spiritual connection to her past lives during the Harmonic Convergence nearly 150 years ago. At that moment, no one was sure whether or not her successor—and your predecessor—Avatar Mei, would have such a connection. As it turned out…she didn't, at first at least. It wasn't until much later in her life, upon discovering a new means of communicating with the spirit world. She decided to record these findings, but refused to share such information with us. She hoped that you would be able to discover how she restored such a connection on your own."

Kai shook his head. "Why would she do that?"

"I don't know; I wasn't privy to that information, so my apologies. However, if you want to meet Avatar Roku, you must learn how to connect with the spirit world. Have you learned this?"

"No, I have not," Kai said decisively.

"Well, we will teach you. That is, if you so wish to meet with Avatar Roku," Ryu said, proceeding to walk through the steel door. Ryu shot a medium-sized fireball into the center of the door, where an indented half-sphere was divided by the doors. It reacted to the flames, forcing the doors to open inwards. The room inside was surrounded by several massive goblets, lit by fire, and glass statues and vases standing directly under them, each with a particular significance to them. In the center, there were four men sitting in iron seats with a particularly large one in the center. They seemed to be debating something of no particular importance to Kai.

Suddenly, when the trio and Sage Ryu walked in, they all stopped, and promptly stared at Kai.

"So…" the sage in the center, with a tri-horned headpiece, said with incredible interest in his eyes, "You have arrived, Avatar Kai."

"Chief Sage Feng, he is here to meet with Avatar Roku," Ryu said, bowing.

Feng eyed Kai with more interest, although with a small hint of wonder. "And I take it you're aware of the difficulty of this?"

Kai nodded.

"Let me ask you this, Kai, why are you not learning airbending? _Why _are you _here_?"

"He is here for—"

"RYU!" Chief Feng bellowed, his deep voice echoing through the circular chamber, immediately silencing any and all sounds. "You will let Kai speak for himself."

"My apologies," Ryu said, bowing.

"Proceed, Kai."

Kai recounted his journey thus far—his discovery of becoming the avatar—supposedly—and his failed journey to the Western Air Temple, and finally the reasons for coming to Crescent Island. Feng eyed him carefully, before laying back in his seat, clearly in thought.

"You can try to reach Avatar Roku. However, you will need to figure out how to access the spirit world on your own. We can only guide you, we cannot do any more than that."

He stood up, motioning for Kai to follow him. The four other sages—Ryu included—walked with Kai and Feng to the left of the room, through another massive steel door and into another chamber. Here, windows revealed the inside of the volcano underneath the island, with lava casually flowing by. Kai eyed it carefully, wondering how strong a firebender must be to command it.

They approached a door, roughly 20 feet in height, opposite the window with a massive flame symbol in the center. Under the orange top of the flame were five serpent heads, each with mouths wide open and their tails flailing about with the orange flame.

"Kai, this is the recreated door to Avatar Roku's sanctuary. This door is to protect invaders. In it's first incarnation, there were two ways to open the door: for sunlight during the winter solstice to hit the gemstone directly below the flame," he pointed to a bright red gem just above the serpent head in the center, "or for five simultaneous fire blasts to hit the serpent mouths."

"You will be the only one to communicate with Avatar Roku, should you succeed," another sage, the only one without a beard, mentioned. "You may stay as long as you need to. However, we ask that you—and your friends—respect this place. It has been destroyed once—we cannot allow that again."

"Well said, Bao," Feng said with a nod. "Now, let us begin. Kai, be ready."

The five sages got into position, each aiming a fist at a serpent's mouth, and swiftly unleashed a fireball directly into the mouths. Almost instantly, the serpent's eyes began to glow bright orange, and the door slowly opened, splitting the serpent in the center in half.

"Now, go. Good luck," Feng said, motioning Kai forward.

"Thank you," Kai replied, bowing.

"Remember!" Ryu said, "A good place to start would be with meditation!"

Kai nodded, waving to Ryu before walking into the sanctuary.

Meanwhile, Marion and Wan stood in the sage's chamber, the latter looking at the glass vases. "Where do you think these come from? Or who made them?" Wan asked.

Standing still, Marion shrugged. "Probably from the first Fire Temple. That, or the Palace in the Capitol. They look really old."

Wan nodded, looking at the glass figure of a dark blue dragon. "This…looks familiar," he said, lightly touching it. "OW!" he shouted, quickly removing his hands from it. "That…that was hot!"

Marion hardly had time to respond, for the glass statue seemed to shake before tipping over. It fell to the ground, shattering into thousands of pieces. As it broke, a stream of fire erupted from it, causing Wan to stumble and fall backwards.

"Oh, no…" Wan said, turning his head to Marion before noticing the Fire Sages running into the room, faces aghast.

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry it's been a while. Work, and other things, have been keeping me busy. I'm at a good place in the story, though, so I think I can get back into it more easily. I hope you enjoy!**


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